매일 아침 일곱 시 삼십 분까지
Every morning by seven thirty
우릴 조그만 교실로 몰아넣고
They put us in a small classroom
전국 구백만의 아이들의 머리 속에
In the heads of the nine million children around the country
모두 똑같은 것만 집어 넣고 있어
All the same things are being crammed in
막힌 꽉 막힌 사방이 막힌 널
Blocked, totally blocked, blocked in all directions you are
그리곤 덥썩 그 모두를 먹어삼킨 이 시꺼먼 교실에서만
Then gulp! swallowing everyone is the black classroom
내 젊음을 보내기는 너무 아까워
My youth is utterly wasted in it

좀 더 비싼 너로 만들어 주겠어
We'll make a more expensive version of you
니 옆에 앉아 있는 그 애보다 더
More expensive then the kid sitting next to you
하나씩 머리를 밟고 올라서도록 해
Take each step over other people's head
좀 더 잘난 네가 될 수가 있어
You can be a little better than you are now
왜 바꾸지 않고 마음을 조이며 젊은 날을 헤멜까
Why not change; why let your heart wither, wandering in your youth
왜 바꾸지 않고 남이 바꾸길 바라고만 있을까
Why not change; why only wait for someone else to change

국민학교에서 중학교로 들어가며
From elementary to middle school,
고등학교를 지나 우릴 포장센타로 넘겨
Through high school they send us to the packaging center
겉보기 좋은 널 만들기위해
To make you more presentable
우릴 대학이란 포장지로 멋지게 싸 버리지
They wrap us grandly with the wrapper called college
이젠 생각해봐 '대학'
Now think about it. College!
본 얼굴은 가린채 근엄한 척 할 시대가 지나버린 걸
The time to hide your true face, the time to pretend to be serious is over
좀 더 솔직해봐 넌 할 수 있어
Be more honest, you can do it

좀 더 비싼 너로 만들어 주겠어
We'll make a more expensive version of you
니 옆에 앉아 있는 그 애보다 더
More expensive then the kid sitting next to you
하나씩 머리를 밟고 올라서도록 해
Take each step over other people's head
좀 더 잘난 네가 될 수가 있어
You can be a little better than you are now
왜 바꾸지 않고 마음을 조이며 젊은 날을 헤멜까
Why not change; why let your heart wither, wandering in your youth
왜 바꾸지 않고 남이 바꾸길 바라고만 있을까
Why not change; why only wait for someone else to change

Does Seo Taiji deserve to be the second most influential K-pop artist ever?

Of course, Seo Taiji was and is a massive star. He is nicknamed the "Cultural President." The news of his divorce from the wife that he managed to hide 14 years made the front page--the actual front page, not the front page of the entertainment section--of every newspaper in Korea. But in terms of stardom, Jo Yong-pil was bigger. In fact, one could make a solid argument that even Kim Geon-mo, a contemporary of Seo Taiji, was bigger. One can argue Seo Taiji and Boys was the early example of a successful boy band, but then again, not really--Sobangcha [소방차] was the first K-pop boy band from 1987, and they were very successful at their peak.

Was Seo Taiji the most innovative with music? Maybe--he did introduce a lot of new genres to Korean pop music. He was the first rapper that found popular success. Seo Taiji's rap-dance format, with a rap followed by chorus, is still the prevalent mode of K-pop idol music. His use of taepyeongso [태평소], a Korean traditional trumpet, was groundbreaking. But arguably, Sanullim was more innovative in terms of creating something no one has heard before. For all his musical talents, Seo Taiji was plagued with allegations of plagiarizing US artists like Milli Vanilli, Cypress Hill or Korn.

But Seo Taiji did something more than being a star, or even being a musician. Seo Taiji deserves this placement because he singlehandedly created a new culture, populated with a new kind of people. The "New Generation" [신세대] was on the rise in Korea in the 1990s, and Seo Taiji was their champion. When the government censored his song, he rebelled until the government repealed the censorship law. When he saw most of Seo Taiji and Boys' earnings going to the production company, he quit the company and started his own, which led to fairer copyright protection for artists. Rather than offering himself to be consumed by the gossipy media, Seo Taiji tightly controlled the presentation of his image, disappearing for years between albums.

Seo Taiji did not just sing and play music. He showed young Koreans how to live as an individual, how to think independently, how to be a master of his own destiny. There have been K-pop bigger stars than Seo Taiji. There have been better musicians. But no one shaped an entire generation and beyond quite like Seo Taiji did.

Interesting trivia: For their fourth album, Seo Taiji and Boys appeared in snowboarding clothes, which were virtually unseen in Korea at the time. Seo Taiji is usually credited with introducing the snowboarding culture to Korea for the first time.

Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at askakorean@gmail.com.

9 comments:

I had been waiting for this post for years! And, I'm very glad you put him at the second spot. His existence redeemed a whole culture in my eyes, because if there was someone like Seo Taiji in a place like South Korea at such a crucial time in society, then I thought progress would be possible. Thank you The Korean. This reader has been an avid fan of your blog since she found it one random day back in university, close to to a decade ago :) The span of the subject matter you cover is impressive. Throughout the years, I have truly found myself drawn to your way of thinking, to your perspectives and found far too many similarities in our affinities. Music is one of my biggest passions, if not the biggest, and I've really enjoyed this in-depth labor of love. I also look forward No. 1 and to the book. Once again, thank you for your dedication to AAK. Now, this reader shall go back to her dull work in front of a computer screen while reflecting on the state of the world.

STJ to me represent the last breed of artists that actually have legitimate talent and unlike some of the respected indie artists he can still sell out stadiums far beyond his prime. I've been sick and tired of seeing the K-pop factories churning out the flavor of the month boyband/girlband who individually wouldn't have been able to being a singer on their own 50 years ago. The girls and boys who are strictly being hired for the certain "look" that fits the demo the company wants to target. They have average to above average vocals, can't write their own songs, can't compose their own music, have professionals that tells them what to wear, how to apply make up, image consultants that tells them what to say, where to go to get exposure, dance instructors that shows them the moves, music video producers that make up everything for their single and the younger generation just can't get enough of them. Until their contract is up and they get into their heads that they are actually talented and demand more money upon which the industry labels them as "unworkable" and tosses them to the curb for the new shiny boyband/girlband of the month and repeat the cycle.

Just to be clear, I do realize these "artists" work themselves like slave labour for 16/hours a day trying to become a star but that doesn't make them talented. STJ might not have been the most innovative but the range on his music is impressive, not to mention the lyrics are profoundly deep and unlike these fake kpop stars he actually wrote and composed his own material.

I won't disagree with the bulk of what you've said (there are major problems with the idol system, the market is obviously oversaturated with too much emphasis on looks and personality) but I think you're being a little dismissive in terms of the quality of (some of) the music. Also, there's more than one way of measuring talent. There are some excellent idol dancers and some very good singers with distinctive voices. Some of their agencies do allow them to create their own music (eventually). They might not have made it as soloists but putting on a good group performance is a skill in itself. There are very few successful idols that I've come across who are there solely for their face with absolutely no dancing or singing talent.

I was in my mid 30s when I discovered K-pop and I had an immediate, visceral reaction to it. This is from someone who shunned and sneered at boybands as a teenager, although I always loved good pop music. The first kpop videos I saw were colourful (like watching a Pedro Almodovar film), the songs were hook-laden and the choreography was inventive and eye-catching. But I quickly discovered that there was more to a lot of the groups than the sugar-rush type songs. I don't think they were a bad introduction to Korean music including more 'organic' forms.

Very interesting post about STJ. The Korean music industry obviously owes him a huge debt, although I think some of his music might be an acquired taste. I'm a k-pop loving philistine though, so what do I know? I also looked up Sobangcha. They were fun! I came across a video of them singing live...let's just say they were struggling (but to be fair they had no vocal backing track like they seem to use nowadays).

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The Korean is a Korean American living in Washington D.C. / Northern Virginia. He lived in Seoul until he was 16, then moved to Los Angeles area. The Korean refers to himself in the third person because he thinks it sounds cool.